


Free drinks

by sunflash



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bartender Cobb Vanth, But aliens are still aliens, Club AU, Good Parent Din Djarin, Happy Ending, M/M, One sided pining because Din is Dense when it comes to his own feelings, Security Din Djarin, brief angst, mandalorians are an actual religious cult that Din has left
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28899264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflash/pseuds/sunflash
Summary: When Din first agreed to work as security at a nightclub, his expectations were low. Din was not a fan of loud, dark, and crowded spaces, but he needed the money and Boba was offering him the job.It turned out it wasn’t all that bad. Din was normally positioned between the bar and the dancefloor to keep an eye out for people getting a little too rowdy. He had also become fond of the bartender, Cobb Vanth, after the other man’s persistence on making Din his friend. Even Din couldn’t deny that Cobb was a charming man....TL;DR Security Din/bartender Cobb. Cobb is flirty with Din, but he doesn't realize it.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Comments: 17
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

When Din first agreed to work as security at a nightclub, his expectations were low. Din was not a fan of loud, dark, and crowded spaces, but he needed the money and Boba was offering him the job. As it currently stood, being a mechanic during the day time just wasn’t cutting it. The introduction of a kid into his life suddenly added on a lot of expenses he previously wasn’t paying for. Din would rather work longer hours than ever give up Grogu, though.

It turned out it wasn’t all that bad. Din was normally positioned between the bar and the dancefloor to keep an eye out for people getting a little too rowdy. He stayed near the wall and out of the way, but was nevertheless vigilant. For the most part he was left alone. There was a curse that there was always  _ one  _ person that Din needed to deal with per night, but most people weren’t dumb enough to actually take a swing at him if he told them to knock it off.

Din had also become fond of the bartender, Cobb Vanth, after the other man’s persistence on making Din his friend. Even Din couldn’t deny that Cobb was a charming man. He joked around with all the patrons, his laugh ringing over the pounding of the music. Din was honestly a little jealous with how effortlessly he interacted with others. It was like he could make anybody into a friend, bouncing off other people’s energy with ease.

Despite how easy going Cobb acted, he took no shit for when people got out of hand. He was no stranger to telling men to fuck off if they were creeping on a girl too hard, or telling someone to back down and cool off when they got too drunk. They always threatened that they’d get Cobb fired for the way he talked to them, but there wasn’t a chance Boba would fire his best bartender. Generally speaking, people  _ loved  _ Cobb, and many remarked they’d come here just to get a drink and chat with him.

While Din and Cobb were friendly with each other, it wasn’t really until a couple months after he started working there did they become friends.

They didn’t often get off work at the same time. Din worked earlier in the evening while Cobb usually worked until close, but one night Din worked until close. By the end of his shift, Din was more than ready to go home and crawl into bed. As he was leaving the building, he instinctively turned his head when he heard two people talking.

Seeing Cobb talking to someone wasn’t particularly alarming, but Din still froze. He noted Cobb’s tense posture and the furrow between his brow. The man he was talking to was vaguely familiar, and then he realized it was a man he had to scare away from Cobb earlier that night. He was persistent and flirtatious despite Cobb firmly rejecting his advances. Sadly his playful nature led many to believe it was okay to get uncomfortably suggestive with him. Tonight wasn’t the first time someone had been creepy towards Cobb, but waiting for him to get off work? That was definitely a whole different kind of line crossing.

After debating a moment on whether or not he should get involved and just walk away— Cobb could handle himself just fine after all—Din sighed and walked over. If something  _ did  _ happen to Cobb, he’d hate himself later for it. Better to do something than nothing at all.

“Hey, Vanth,” Din called over, making the other man jump as if spooked. “Are you ready to go?” He didn’t want to make a scene or fight the other man, simply extending an easy out of what looked to be an uncomfortable conversation.

Cobb let out a breath, instantly relaxing. “Yeah. It’s getting late.” He gave the other man a curt nod, a strained look on his face as he went by Din’s side.

The second they were out of ear shot, Cobb glanced over his shoulder and sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “Now I’ve dealt with a lot of men that don’t know how to take a damn hint, but that one sure takes the cake.” With a small shake of his head, he met Din’s eyes and smiled. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“It’s no problem,” Din assured. “He looked like the kind that could get aggressive.” He continued to walk with Cobb despite going very much out of the way of his own home. If he remembered correctly, Cobb took the subway to work.

Cobb’s nose scrunched slightly. “I don’t know, seems more like the cowardly kind to me.” He laughed a little. “You should’ve seen the fear on his face when you called out for me. I should just start telling people you’re my boyfriend. I’m sure it’d make most of them back off.” 

“It probably would,” Din said with a shrug, not quite sure how he felt about that.

“I’m joking, I promise,” Cobb clarified, holding his hands up. “It wouldn’t stop people all the time anyways.”

Without thinking, Din blurted out, “I’m surprised you don’t have a boyfriend.”

Cobb was immediately grinning at that. “Aw, what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. “Do you think I’m pretty?”

Din’s cheeks felt a little warm as he rolled his eyes. “You’re easy to get along with and everyone likes you. If you wanted someone, you could probably get them easily.” He decided to not answer Cobb’s second question.

“You’re right,” Cobb agreed with a nod, “but I’m not the kind of guy who jumps into relationships. I want lasting relationships, not something that ends within a couple months.” He gave Din a curious look. “What about you? Got a partner?”

Din shook his head. “No.” Relationships were a foreign concept to him. It wasn’t that he was against the idea of being in a relationship, he was just never actively seeking one out. 

“You don’t gotta answer, ‘m just curious, but are you into men or women?” Cobb tilted his head curiously. He always tended to ask Din a lot of questions when he could, but he somehow managed to ride the line of not being overly invasive. He never pressed for information Din wasn’t willing to give.

Honestly, Din wasn’t entirely sure how to answer him, silent for a moment as he thought it over. “I’ve never given it much thought, if I’m honest.” He found himself frowning a little. “I guess I don’t care either way? Mandalorians aren’t very romance centric.”

“Were you not allowed to be in a relationship when you were a Mandalorian?”

“It’s not that.” Din shook his head. “Raising children is more important than romance. I honestly can’t recall knowing any Mandalorian couples, or being around someone who was born into the religion rather than being brought in.”

Talking about his past always left Din’s chest feeling tight. He was aware he grew up  _ so  _ differently than most folk around him. His childhood held a lot of trauma, and it wasn’t always easy to talk about any of it no matter how vague. Cobb always felt like a safe person to talk to, though. This wouldn’t have been the first time his past with being a Mandalorian was brought up.

Cobb had an inquisitive look on his face, but didn’t press further. “So, you’d probably end up adopting a kid before getting into a relationship?” he asked.

That fact that he was clearly joking made Din smile a little as he answered, “Yes. That’s already the case.”

Cobb stopped walking for a second. “Wait, what?” he sputtered out, eyes wide. “You’ve got a kid?”

“Technically not officially yet.” Din let out a tired sigh. “He’s not human, and no one knows what species he is, so it’s been a whole fiasco on whether or not he’s considered to be his own person, or just an alien animal. It’s making the whole adoption process hell.”

Cobb patted Din’s shoulder sympathetically. “I can only imagine.”

They continued to chat as they walked, and it was only once they were at the station did Cobb realize that Din had walked him all the way there.

“Wait, you don’t live this way, do you?” Cobb asked. “You didn’t have to walk with me.”

“I wanted to,” Din said simply. He meant it, even if his head felt heavy with the need to sleep. It wasn’t often where he had anyone to talk to besides a child who only cooed in response. The man from earlier also hadn’t left Din’s mind and he wanted to make sure Cobb got to the station safely. 

Cobb blinked in surprise. “Well, it was much appreciated.” The way he smiled left Din’s chest growing warm. “I enjoy talking to you. I really wasn’t expecting you to be such a sweetheart when we first met.”

The warmth in Din’s chest started to rise to his cheeks. “I don’t think that’s how most people would describe me.”

“You stand outside the club with scared girls until their ride gets there, you adopt children,” Cobb listed off with a small laughing, “walked little old helpless me to the station—”

“I’ve seen you send a man twice your size to the floor.”

“—and you’re the only person I’ve known to get Boba to smile, so that’s an accomplishment in itself.” Cobb had such a cheeky grin, and Din couldn’t get annoyed at that face. He toned himself down a bit, expression becoming softer. “Seriously, you’re a good man.”

Part of Din wanted to argue, Cobb didn’t know his whole past, but instead he decided to just take the compliment. “Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, words of gratitude not really being his forte. Even discounting his sometimes subpar social skills, Din wasn’t used to being complimented like this.

“I’ll let you go now.” Cobb patted Din’s shoulder as he walked past him. “Have a good rest of your night!”

Din watched Cobb walk away for a moment before realizing he hadn’t said anything in return. “You too.” He pulled his eyes away and started on his way home. 

As he stared ahead, Cobb’s words and his smile kept running in repeat in his head, keeping that same warm feeling in his chest. Din supposed he was… happy? People were rarely as nice to him as Cobb was. It wasn’t really until Cobb started talking to him at work did his other coworkers start approaching him. Beforehand, it was like everyone was a little fearful of him. Din was used to it. Most people saw his Mandalorian tattoos and decided to stay away from him, which wasn’t entirely uncalled for.

Without meaning to, Din started walking Cobb to the station whenever their schedules aligned. Cobb started asking if Din wanted to go out to eat, but it was never a good time. Between working two jobs and taking care of Grogu, it didn’t really leave him with free time to go out with others. Going with Cobb to the station was as close as he got to spending time with him outside of work.

It seemed so inane, but Din truly enjoyed it. After being in a loud and crowded environment, going down a mostly quiet street and chatting with someone who could put a smile on his face meant the world to him. He didn’t have many friends.

Cobb seemed to open up to him more at work, offering him free drinks, joking around on shift and on break. Sometimes it worried Din a little, wondering if they were going to get in trouble with Fennec. While Boba really didn’t care what they did as long as they did their jobs, Fennec could be a little more strict. In an odd way, it always felt like she turned a blind eye whenever Cobb waved Din over to him for something unimportant.

“What is it?” Din asked, already assuming nothing was wrong by the bar. If something had gone wrong, he would’ve noticed by now.

“Well, we were playing truth or dare,” he gestured at two college aged looking people, “and I’ve landed myself on a dare.” Cobb sighed as if he didn’t get himself into the situation. 

“You’re supposed to be working, not playing games.” This honestly wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. Cobb had once roped him into arm wrestling a group of frat boys; if they could win, the next round of drinks were free. Safe to say those kids did not get their free drinks.

“I’m a good multitasker.” Cobb shrugged, actively working on a drink as if to prove his point. “She,” he pointed at one of the college kids, “can’t think of a dare, so I want your help. You wouldn’t make me do anything that’d get me fired.”

Din sighed. “I’ve never even played this game before, I don’t know. Don’t you usually just ask very invasive questions and dare people to kiss each other?”

The girl clapped her hands together like she just got a great idea. “Oh! Dare you to kiss him!” She seemed so proud of herself.

Din, on the other hand, was taken aback. “Why me?”

“You look like the scariest guy here,” she said simply, eyes drifting down to his tattoos. She probably had a drink too many to be subtle.

“What? Don’t wanna kiss me?” Cobb held his hand to his chest in mock offense.

Din shook his head. “Not on a dare, no.” He had honestly never kissed  _ anyone  _ with the exception of pressing little kisses onto the top of Grogu’s head.

“So you’d kiss me if it  _ weren’t  _ a dare?” Cobb teased, leaning in a little closer towards Din.

At that, Din found himself rolling his eyes. “Why else would you want to kiss me?” he asked in return.

To his right, the college snorted hard and covered her face, and the guy sitting next to her looked like he was trying not to laugh, eyes wide as if in disbelief. Their reactions confused Din, but he didn’t bother asking what was up. Maybe they just found the exchange funny.

“Fennec is going to yell at me if I stand here much longer,” Din said, deciding to break away. “Call me over if there’s actually a problem.”

Din wasn’t called over for the rest of the night.

At the end of their shifts, they started on their familiar walk towards the station. It wasn’t snowing, but the weather was certainly chilly. Din wore the same jacket every day regardless of weather, but right now the warmth was certainly appreciated. To his concern, Cobb wasn’t wearing a jacket or his usual red scarf. Normally he found the club’s A/C too cold.

“Hey, uh,” Cobb started to say, running a hand through his hair, “‘m sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier.”

For a good second, Din didn’t know what Cobb was even referring to. “The whole dare thing?” he questioned. “You were just playing around. It’s fine.”

“Yeah…” Cobb looked off to the side before letting out a sigh, his breath showing in the chilled air. “I remember afterwards what you told me about your complicated feelings towards relationships ‘n what not, so I was worried for a second.”

It might’ve bothered Din more if Cobb had been pushy with it, or god forbid actually  _ kissed  _ him without him saying it was okay. However, Cobb hadn’t done a thing wrong.

“Trust me, if you’re in any way bothering me, I’d say something,” Din assured. “I’m more concerned over the fact that you’re not wearing a jacket.”

Cobb finally eased up a bit, letting out a short laugh. “It was warm enough when I came into work that I forgot a jacket. I’m  _ really  _ regretting that right now.”

“I bet.” Din felt half tempted to offer Cobb his jacket, but they were almost at the station. The jacket also held a lot of sentimental value, briefly wondering if he was even comfortable to part with it. It’d only be for a night, right? Cobb was trustworthy too.

As if the world wanted to punish Cobb for having a little slip up, the subway he took home was delayed.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Cobb groaned softly, plopping down on one of the benches inside the still chilly station. “This only happened because I didn’t wear a jacket.” He frowned grumpily at the tracks in front of him.

With a nod in agreement, Din slid off his own jacket. “Here.”

“Oh! You don’t have to!” Cobb waved his hands despite the fact that they were trembling slightly. “It won’t hurt me to be out in the cold for a li’l. Plus, you’ll be cold too.”

Din shrugged. “You’re going to be here for a while. You can just give the jacket back to me tomorrow.”

“You can just cuddle up to me instead and keep me warm,” Cobb suggested with a coy little smile on his face.

“Take the damn jacket, Vanth,” Din huffed, finding himself smiling a little bit too.

Cobb’s shoulders sagged a bit as he relented and took the jacket. “A shame. You look like you give nice hugs.” He slipped the jacket on and pulled it tight around him. “Thank you.”

For a second, Din found himself staring at Cobb,  _ he looks nice in my jacket,  _ before chuckling softly. “Once again, you’d be the first to say something like that.” Already the cold was starting to nip at his arms, but he didn’t pay much mind. “And it’s no problem, see you tomorrow. Stay warm.”

“You too, partner!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this chapter the day I posted ch.1, but decided to hold off a moment before posting.

The first time Cobb saw Din Djarin, he felt a little wary. There was no mistaking the tattoos that covered the sleeve of his arms and peaked up behind the collar of the tight black tee he wore to work. Mandalorian tattoos were so… rigid. Rather than being a form of art, there was almost something haunting in the solid black ink and the straight, crisp lines. Those tattoos meant that Din was a part of a very dangerous religious and crime organization. Cobb almost couldn’t believe Boba Fett would hire someone like that.

Din himself was rather standoffish. He didn’t speak much when Cobb tried to talk to him, and he kept to himself during breaks. Cobb had to give it to him though, Din was good at his job, and slightly raising his voice was enough to make most troublemakers straighten up.

It didn’t stop Cobb from trying to get to know Din, not wanting to make assumptions about a man he knew nothing about. Hell, for the first several weeks, he didn’t even know what Din’s name was. No one did. In retrospect, Cobb felt bad that no one even bothered to ask for the man’s name. Part of him had been worried that getting Din to talk would reveal that he wasn’t a good person.

The moment that changed it all for Cobb was a late night when he was trying to console a young, drunk girl who had gotten spooked by a group of guys catcalling her. Internally, Cobb seethed as he spotted the group of guys. They kept glancing over at the girl and laughing, seeming rather amused with themselves. 

“Is something wrong?”

Both of them startled as Din spoke up, now moved from his usual post by the wall. Despite being the same height, the Mandalorian somehow felt taller.

“Ah, nothing for you to handle, at least not yet,” Cobb said with a shake of his head. “I’d keep an eye on that group of guys over there.” He pointed over to the offending group, some of them no longer smiling as they had noticed Din. “They’re freaking her out, and all her friends have gone home.”

Din glanced over at the boys with a small frown before turning his attention to the girl. “Do you have someone coming to pick you up?” he asked, tone softening a bit and posture relaxing as if trying to seem less imposing to a girl who was already stressed out.

The girl nodded, wiping away the mascara stained tears that were running down her cheeks. “Mhhm, they should be here in fifteen minutes.” Her speech was slightly slurred, and her eyes kept darting over behind Din. “Oh god, what if they try and approach me again? I don’t- I can’t deal with that, I—” Fresh tears started welling up.

“Hey, hey,” Din shushed, lowering himself down a little to meet her eyes. “You’ll be fine. Do you want me to stand outside with you until your ride gets here?” Din’s eyes seemed so much softer right now, eyebrows furrowed down in concern.

Sniffling, the girl eagerly nodded her head. “Please.”

As Cobb watched their little interaction, he found himself almost immediately smitten.

The scary Mandalorian was actually a sweetheart. Who would’ve guessed?

They worked closing that night, and as Cobb was finishing tidying up the bar, he spotted Din going past.

“Hey!” Cobb called over with a small wave. “Want a drink before you go? On the house.”

Din looked a little surprised. “What for?”

“For helping out that girl earlier, it was very kind of you.” Cobb also wanted to seize a chance to get Din to talk to him a little more. He had always found the man attractive, but being a kind person behind a tough exterior? What could Cobb say? He was weak for that kind of thing.

“It’s part of my job to keep people safe,” Din said honestly. The fact that it didn’t seem like he was  _ trying  _ to act humble only made Cobb like him more.

Cobb shrugged. “Why turn down a free drink?”

After hesitating for a moment, Din relented and sat down at the bar. “Thank you.”

As Cobb poured him a drink, another coworker walked by. “Goodnight, Cobb!” and after a heavy pause, they awkwardly tacked on, “Night, Mando.”

Din tensed and slightly winced, but still gave a wave in return.

“Is that what everyone’s calling me?” he muttered, as if mostly to himself. Although clearly bothered, Din looked more tired than mad.

Cobb smiled sympathetically, sliding over a glass towards Din. “No one knows your name.” Now he was wondering if  _ Mando  _ was a derogatory term, or if the man simply didn’t like being referred to like that.

“Din Djarin.” He nodded politely at Cobb before taking a sip.

“Cobb Vanth,” he introduced himself in return, smiling a little.

Din gave him a curious look after a beat of silence. “You look like you want to ask questions.” Again, he didn’t sound angry about it.

“Yeah,” Cobb admitted with a sheepish chuckle, his hand scratching through his beard. “You don’t often see Mandalorians working in public. You keep to yourself most of the time, too.” He raised his hands a little. “Not that your business is mine or anyone else,” he added on as an afterthought.

Din took another sip of his drink. “I’m not actually a Mandalorian.”

“Huh?” Cobb’s gaze immediately dropped down to the peak of black ink on Din’s chest, the jacket he put on now obscuring the ones on his arms. Remembering his manners, Cobb quickly apologized, “Sorry, I thought those were Mandalorian tattoos.” Even now he was pretty certain they were. Maybe Din got them without realizing the meaning?

“They are,” Din confirmed, putting down his drink and sliding up the sleeve on his jacket. He showed his wrist to Cobb, there being another tattoo there in red ink. “I was a Mandalorian, but I left some time ago.”

The tattoo on his wrist didn’t mean anything to Cobb.

“So, does that tattoo mean you’ve left?” Cobb questioned, confused. “I didn’t think you were allowed to leave them alive.”

Din let out a soft huff of breath. “I would have to  _ really  _ fuck up for them to want to kill me. I had to get this tattoo when I left. It lets other Mandalorian’s know that I’m no longer one of them.” There was some pain in Din’s eyes and a heaviness to his voice. Cobb could only assume that meant Din was shunned immediately from the community he likely grew up in. There wasn’t anyway for him to even remotely understand how hard that must’ve been for Din.

“Wouldn’t they be worried about you spilling their secrets?” Cobb asked, realizing afterwards that he should probably steer the conversation to something else instead of satiating his own curiosity.

“No.” Din shook his head. “There’s a reason why very little is known about them. You don’t…  _ want  _ to talk about it in detail. They operate in a way that it would be extremely difficult for what I know to be of any use in the first place to an outsider. There’s a reason you’re indoctrinated as a child and not brought in as an adult.”

That answered Cobb’s earlier thought about whether or not Din had grown up in the cult.

“That sounds terrifying.”

Din let out a snort of laughter that didn’t sound particularly humored. “That’s the easiest way to put it.” The next time he brought his drink to his lips, he took down more than just a mere sip. “That’s in the past now.” He let out a heavy sigh and the tension slowly ebbed away. “For the most part, I’m happy with where my life is at.” His eyes glanced up from the glass to meet Cobb’s. “Sorry for dumping that on you.”

“Oh, not at all, you’re fine!” Cobb assured. “I asked, and I’m always happy to listen. I won’t go repeating this to anybody either.” He couldn’t deny he liked to partake in the workplace gossiping, but it was more so over dumb and petty things, not someone’s childhood trauma.

“Thank you.” For the first time, Din smiled, and Cobb just about melted on the spot. Then he added on in a soft voice, “I didn’t think you would in the first place. You seem like a good man,” and Cobb was ready to swoon.

Cobb always fell fast and hard for people, already reminding himself to take things one step at a time. As it currently stood, they were just now acquainted, just workplace coworkers. Maybe romance would be an option if they became friends.

After that, Cobb made it a point to try and befriend Din. It was fascinating to see the difference in how he stood when on the job versus talking to him. On shift, he looked as intimidating as ever, shoulders squared, eyes alert. Away from work, it was like his whole demeanor was put into a different light. He was still strong and silent, but without the hard edges. Every smile felt like a win, and Cobb wanted to kiss the man the first time he got him to laugh.

Their coworkers seemed to pick up on Cobb’s little crush rather quickly. They teased him about it, snickering as Cobb offered Din free drinks but denied them one. Someone told him he hovered around Din like a love struck puppy. Even regulars at the bar caught on, much to Cobb’s dismay. Sure, they were all rooting for him, but he was fine at taking things at his own pace. He also didn’t want the others to weird Din out.

It was the only time he was grateful Din wasn’t particularly friendly with their other coworkers. 

Cobb started laying on the flirting a little thicker and thicker, trying to see if Din had any interest in him as well. If he did, he kept it well hidden and didn’t make any obvious moves back.

The time that Din let him wear his jacket, Cobb was over the damn  _ moon.  _ It felt like he was a teenager back in highschool again, which is to say he felt a tad ridiculous over how ecstatic he was over this. Wearing Din’s jacket to work the next day certainly made people think that they had finally gotten together, and they rolled their eyes when he told them that they weren’t. They remarked on how  _ obvious  _ it was and teased him.

As time went on… Cobb started to wonder if it really was that obvious that they  _ both  _ liked each other.

Din always declined going out for dinner. Which was fine! Cobb knew he worked two jobs and had a kid. Din never flirted back, but he had never been in a relationship before, so maybe he wasn’t good at showing interest. Whenever Cobb flirted heavily, Din always shut him down or didn’t seem to get it. Was it genuine obliviousness, or was this just his way of showing that he wasn’t interested? If Din were interested in any way, he’d react more to his flirting, right?

It made Cobb too nervous to get anymore bold. If Din was choosing to not acknowledge his flirting, then getting more obvious wouldn’t help. Besides, Cobb did genuinely enjoy the friendship they had. He liked the way Din watched out for him, their walks to the station, and joking around at work. Even if things never got romantic, they had a solid friendship. It was clear Din didn’t have many friends. Cobb would hate to ruin things for the both of them.

Cobb wondered if it was about time to give it up. As beautiful and kind as Din was, he wasn’t the only man he knew of with qualities he liked. It might be better to finally leave Din be. It had been almost a year since they first met. Something would’ve happened by now, right?

Those thoughts were still weighing heavy on him when he went out with a group of friends. The game that was playing on the TV was tuned out and he wasn’t in on any conversation.

“Hey.”

Cobb jolted as he was snapped out of thought, immediately looking to who spoke. “Oh, sorry for spacing out!” 

The man that had spoken to him, Aarne, took the seat next to him. “You good? You’re usually the loudest one here.” His tone was playful, but carried a weight of concern. The two of them went a while back.

“Ah, I’m just fine.” Cobb smiled reassuringly. “Just a lot on my mind.”

“Want to talk about it over dinner after this is over?” Aarne offered, a hopeful look in his eyes.

It wasn’t the first time he asked Cobb out on a date. The past couple months he had been trying, polite and never pushy, but each time Cobb turned him down. Because of his feelings for Din, he never really considered taking him up on that offer.

However…

Aarne was a good man. For years now, Cobb had enjoyed being his friends. He was handsome, funny, and kind. Honestly, a year prior, he was kind of hoping Aarne would ask him out. It was a shame he started showing interest after Din caught Cobb’s eye. 

But maybe it was time to call it quits with Din. He didn’t seem to like Cobb back, but Aarne did.

“Sure,” Cobb said after a brief moment of thought. “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter count has been bumped up and this Might hit 5 chapters, but we'll see! Thank y'all sm for all the comments you left on the first chapter ;w; <333 I hate repetitively responding with "thank you" because it feels Insincere agshdjkf but do know I v much appreciate it <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! And thank you to Cakes for beta reading <333
> 
> Next chapter will be in Cobb's POV owo
> 
> I have a Mandalorian/SW specific [Tumblr](https://notanothermandoblog.tumblr.com/) if you care to give a follow :D
> 
> I also run a [Mandalorian discord server](https://discord.gg/a2ECMARbA6) if you want to talk about the show and share content with other people!


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